Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) data collection and claim pre-generation for insured approval

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are described for using data collected by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to generate insurance claim estimates that an insured individual may quickly review, approve, or modify. When an insurance-related event occurs, such as a vehicle collision, crash, or disaster, one or more UAVs are dispatched to the scene of the event to collect various data, including data related to vehicle or real property (insured asset) damage. With the insured&#39;s permission or consent, the data collected by the UAVs may then be analyzed to generate an estimated insurance claim for the insured. The estimated insurance claim may be sent to the insured individual, such as to their mobile device via wireless communication or data transmission, for subsequent review and approval. As a result, insurance claim handling and/or the online customer experience may be enhanced.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of (1) U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/053,519, entitled “METHOD OF IMPLEMENTING UNMANNEDAERIAL VEHICLES (UAVS),” filed Sep. 22, 2014, (2) U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 62/209,963, entitled “DISASTER DAMAGE ANALYSISAND LOSS MITIGATION IMPLEMENTING UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES (UAVS),” filedAug. 26, 2015, (3) U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/207,421entitled “INSURANCE UNDERWRITING AND RE-UNDERWRITING IMPLEMENTINGUNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES (UAVS),” filed Aug. 20, 2015, (4) U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/207,127 entitled “ACCIDENTRECONSTRUCTION IMPLEMENTING UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES (UAVS),” filed Aug.19, 2015, (5) U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/209,755entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF UTILIZING UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES TODETECT INSURANCE CLAIM BUILDUP,” filed Aug. 25, 2015, (6) U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/209,627 entitled “SYSTEMS ANDMETHODS FOR USING DATA COLLECTED FROM UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES TOPRE-GENERATE CLAIMS FOR INSURED APPROVAL,” filed Aug. 25, 2015, and (7)U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/208,201 entitled “LOSSMITIGATION IMPLEMENTING UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES (UAVS),” filed Aug. 21,2015, the disclosure of each of which is hereby expressly incorporatedby reference herein in its entirety.

This application is also related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/824,859 entitled “ACCIDENT FAULT DETERMINATION IMPLEMENTING UNMANNEDAERIAL VEHICLES (UAVS),” filed Aug. 12, 2015, the disclosure of which ishereby expressly incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present application generally relates to insurance and, moreparticularly, to systems and methods for using data collected fromunmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones to pre-generate claims forinsured approval.

BACKGROUND

Conventionally, filing claims for an insurance-related event may be atime-consuming process that requires a large component of humanintervention. For example, to file a vehicle claim, various datacollection activities must be performed, such as speaking withwitnesses, visiting the scene of a vehicle collision, crash, ordisaster, examining vehicle damages, etc. These actions usually requirea great deal of time, effort, and cost when performed by a person.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, a computer-implemented method of using drone data topre-generate insurance claims may be provided. The method may includereceiving, via a network, drone data from one or more UAVs. The dronedata may include one or more of image data, video data, or audio dataassociated with an insurance-related event in which damage is incurredon an insured asset. The method may also include analyzing, by one ormore processors, the drone data to estimate an extent of damage incurredon the insured asset. The method may further include generating, by oneor more processors, an estimated insurance claim for the insured assetbased upon the estimated extent of damage incurred on the insured asset.Additionally, the method may include transmitting, via a network, theestimated insurance claim to an owner of the insured asset (such as to amobile device of the owner via wireless communication or datatransmission) for review and approval of the estimated insurance claim.The method may include additional, fewer, or alternate actions,including those discussed elsewhere herein.

In another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumincluding computer-readable instructions to be executed on one or moreprocessors of a system for using drone data to pre-generate insuranceclaims may be provided. The instructions when executed may cause the oneor more processors to receive, via a network, drone data from one ormore UAVs. The drone data may include one or more of image data, videodata, or audio data associated with an insurance-related event in whichdamage is incurred on an insured asset. The instructions when executedmay also cause the one or more processors to analyze the drone data toestimate an extent of damage incurred on the insured asset. Theinstructions when executed may further cause the one or more processorsto generate an estimated insurance claim for the insured asset basedupon the estimated extent of damage incurred on the insured asset.Additionally, the instructions when executed may cause the one or moreprocessors to transmit, via a network, the estimated insurance claim toa mobile device of an owner of the insured asset for review and approvalof the estimated insurance claim. The non-transitory computer-readablestorage memory may include additional, fewer, or alternatecomputer-readable instructions, including those discussed elsewhereherein.

In another aspect, a computer system for using drone data topre-generate insurance claims may be provided. The computer system mayinclude a data repository and a server including a memory havinginstructions for execution on one or more processors. The instructions,when executed by the one or more processors, may cause the server toreceive, via a network, drone data from one or more UAVs. The drone datamay include one or more of image data, video data, or audio dataassociated with an insurance-related event in which damage is incurredon an insured asset. The instructions, when executed by the one or moreprocessors, may also cause the server to store the drone data in thedata repository. Further, the instructions, when executed by the one ormore processors, may cause the server to analyze the drone data in thedata repository to estimate an extent of damage incurred on the insuredasset. Still further, the instructions, when executed by the one or moreprocessors, may cause the server to generate an estimated insuranceclaim for the insured asset based upon the estimated extent of damageincurred on the insured asset. Additionally, the instructions, whenexecuted by the one or more processors, may cause the server totransmit, via a network, the estimated insurance claim to mobile orother computing device of an owner of the insured asset for their reviewand approval of the estimated insurance claim. The computer system mayinclude additional, fewer, or alternate instructions for execution onthe one or more processors, including those discussed elsewhere herein.

Advantages will become more apparent to those skilled in the art fromthe following description of the preferred embodiments which have beenshown and described by way of illustration. As will be realized, thepresent embodiments may be capable of other and different embodiments,and their details are capable of modification in various respects.Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded asillustrative in nature and not as restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

There are shown in the drawings arrangements which are presentlydiscussed, it being understood, however, that the present embodimentsare not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown,wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary system for using datacollected from UAVs to pre-generate claims for insured approval;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary UAV;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method for using data collectedfrom UAVs to pre-generate claims for insured approval; and

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary computing environment thatimplements a system and method for using data collected from UAVs topre-generate claims for insured approval.

The Figures depict preferred embodiments for purposes of illustrationonly. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the followingdiscussion that alternative embodiments of the systems and methodsillustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principlesof the invention described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The systems and methods disclosed herein generally relate to, interalia, using data collected by UAVs or drones to generate insurance claimestimates that an insured individual may quickly review, approve, ormodify. More particularly, when an insurance-related event occurs, oneor more UAVs are dispatched to the scene of the event to automaticallycollect all relevant data. The collected data is then analyzed togenerate an estimated insurance claim, which is sent to the insuredindividual for subsequent review and/or approval.

In one aspect, the systems and methods disclosed herein may perform thefollowing actions: (1) receive image, audio, and/or other drone data, ator via a remote server (and/or one or more remote processors) associatedwith an insurance provider, from one or more drones (or dronetransceivers) via wireless communication or data transmission, thereceived drone data recording, showing, capturing, detailing, orotherwise being associated with a scene of a vehicle collision, crash,or disaster and/or being generated, captured, collected, or gathered bythe one or more drones (and/or associated drone sensors, cameras,imaging devices, audio or visual recording devices, and/or otherdrone-mounted electronic devices) before, during, and/or after thevehicle collision, crash, or disaster, the vehicle collision, crash, ordisaster involving an insured driver or vehicle covered by an insurancepolicy issued by the insurance provider; (2) analyze, at or via theremote server, the received drone data to estimate an extent of vehicledamage and/or passenger injuries caused by the vehicle collision, crash,or disaster; (3) generate, at or via the remote server, an estimatedinsurance claim for the vehicle collision, crash, or disaster based uponthe estimated extent of vehicle damage and/or passenger injuriesdetermined from analysis of the drone data; and/or (4) transmit theestimated insurance claim, via wireless communication or datatransmission, from the remote server to a mobile or other computingdevice associated with the insured driver or an owner of the insuredvehicle to facilitate their review, approval, and/or modification of theestimated insurance claim and quicker claim handling.

Additionally or alternatively, the systems and methods may adjust orupdate, at or via the remote server, a premium, rate, reward, ordiscount for the insurance policy of the insured driver or vehicle basedupon the estimated insurance claim; and/or accept or receive, at or viathe remote server, approval of, or modification to, the estimatedinsurance claim from the insured driver or owner of the insured vehiclethat is sent from their mobile or other computing device.

In another aspect, the systems and methods disclosed herein may performthe following actions: (1) receive image, audio, and/or other dronedata, at or via a remote server (and/or one or more remote processors)associated with an insurance provider, from one or more drones (or dronetransceivers) via wireless communication or data transmission, thereceived drone data recording, showing, capturing, detailing, orotherwise being associated with an insured asset and being generated,captured, collected, or gathered by the one or more drones (and/orassociated drone sensors, cameras, imaging devices, audio or visualrecording devices, and/or other drone-mounted electronic devices)before, during, and/or after an insurance-related event, the insuredasset covered by an insurance policy issued by the insurance provider;(2) analyze, at or via the remote server, the received drone data toestimate an extent of damage to the insured asset incurred as a resultof the insurance-related event; (3) generate, at or via the remoteserver, an estimated insurance claim for the insured asset based uponthe estimated extent of damage to the insured asset that is caused bythe insurance-related event as determined from analysis of the dronedata; and/or (4) transmit the estimated insurance claim via wirelesscommunication or data transmission from the remote server to a mobile orother computing device associated with the insured or an owner of theinsured asset to facilitate their review, approval, and/or modificationof the estimated insurance claim and quicker claim handling.

Additionally or alternatively, the systems and methods may adjust orupdate, at or via the remote server, a premium, rate, reward, ordiscount for the insurance policy of the insured or for the insuredasset based upon the estimated insurance claim; and/or accept orreceive, at or via the remote server, approval of, or modification to,the estimated insurance claim from the insured or owner of the insuredasset that is sent from their mobile or other computing device.

The insurance-related event may be a vehicle collision, vehicle crash,vehicle disaster, hurricane, tornado, thunderstorm, windstorm, icestorm, earthquake, and/or hailstorm, and/or the insured asset may be avehicle, home, boat, real property, and/or other property. The damage tothe insured asset may be wind, water, and/or fire damage, and theinsured asset may be an insured home, real property, vehicle, and/orother property.

I. Exemplary System for Using Data Collected from UAVS to Pre-GenerateClaims for Insured Approval

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of an exemplary system 100 for using datacollected from UAVs to pre-generate claims for insured approval. Theexemplary system 100 may include a mobile device 102, UAVs 104A-104D, acentral monitoring system 106, and an insurance server 108, allcommunicating via a communication network 110, which may include wiredand/or wireless links.

Generally speaking, the UAVs 104A-104D may be any suitable type of UAV(e.g., quadracopters, flying wings, drones, etc.). As such, the UAVs104A-104D may be equipped with any suitable number of propellers, wings,and/or engines to facilitate sustained flight, maneuvering, and/or theexecution of various tasks as further discussed herein. Further, theUAVs 104A-104D may utilize any suitable type of navigation and/ormaneuvering control, such as collision-avoidance systems,detect-and-avoid systems, etc. Moreover, while FIG. 1 shows only fourUAVs, the system 100 in general may include any number of suitable UAVs.

The UAVs 104A-104D may be configured to collect data associated with aninsurance-related event 112. In general, the insurance-related event 112may be any incident in which damages are incurred on an insured asset.For example, if the insured asset is a vehicle, a motorcycle, a truck, aboat, etc., then the damages to the insured asset may be losses relatedto a collision, crash, or may be the result of a disaster. As anotherexample, the insured asset may be a home, a real property, and/or otherproperty. As such, the damages to the insured asset may be in the formof wind damages, water damages, fire damages, theft damages, haildamages, earthquake damages, etc. Other examples of theinsurance-related event 112 may include weather conditions or naturaldisasters (e.g., hurricanes, tornados, thunderstorms, windstorms,hailstorms, earthquakes, ice storms, etc.) that may cause or result indamages to one or more insured assets.

As an illustrative example, FIG. 1 shows the insurance-related event 112as an event involving a vehicle collision or crash. As such, the UAVs104A-104D may perform data collection activities related to the vehiclecollision or crash 112. For example, one or more of the UAVs 104A-104Dmay provide a live recording of the collision or crash scene, takeaerial photographs, collect video and audio data, collect driver andvehicle information, download telematics data from the vehicle, etc.Further, the UAVs 104A-104D may interact with individuals 113 (e.g.,drivers, passengers, witnesses, police, public safety personnel, etc.)to collect relevant data and information regarding the vehicle collisionor crash 112.

The UAVs 104A-104D may communicate with each another to perform variousactivities including those related to data collection. The UAVs104A-104D may communicate with one another via the network 110.Alternatively or additionally, the UAVs 104A-104D may communicate withone another via wireless links 114. In one aspect, one or more of theUAVs 104A-104D may communicate with one another to perform tasks as anintelligent group, thereby acting as and communicating with one anotheras a drone swarm. In another aspect, one or more of the UAVs 104A-104Dmay be controlled individually by other UAVs 104. For example, one ormore of the UAVs 104A-104D may receive commands from other UAVs 104,process the commands, and execute one or more actions based upon thereceived commands. Individual control of one or more of the UAVs104A-104D may be implemented, for example, via a unique UAV address, aunique frequency channel, a unique code (e.g., a pseudo noise code or apseudo random noise code), etc.

Additionally, the central monitoring system 106 may be used tocommunicate with, command, and/or control one or more of the UAVs104A-104D. The central monitoring system 106 may be implemented as oneor more desktop computers, laptop computers, smartphones, or any othercomputing devices capable of transmitting data to and receiving datafrom the UAVs 104A-104D. The central monitoring system 106 may operateto dispatch one or more of the UAVs 104A-104D, to command one or more ofthe UAVs 104A-104D to perform tasks, to navigate one or more of the UAVs104A-104D to a specific geographic location, etc.

In one aspect, the central monitoring system 106 may be configured tocommunicate with the UAVs 104A-104D individually. In another aspect, thecentral monitoring system 106 may be configured to communicate with theUAVs 104A-104D in a hierarchical fashion. For example, the centralmonitoring system 106 may communicate with a “mothership” UAV (one ofthe UAVs 104A-104D), which then communicates with other UAVs. Generally,the central monitoring system 106 may operate automatically orsemi-automatically with no user intervention or minimal userintervention. Alternatively or additionally, the central monitoringsystem 106 may be staffed with personnel trained to command, control,and/or communicate with one or more of the UAVs 104A-104D based upon aparticular scenario or application.

In operation, the central monitoring system 106 may receive a reportindicating the occurrence of an insurance-related event, such as thevehicle collision or crash 112. For example, an insured individual(e.g., a driver or owner of the vehicle involved in the collision orcrash) may report the collision or crash to the central monitoringsystem 106. The insured individual may do so by using the mobile device102, which may be, for example, a smartphone, a tablet, a wearabledevice, etc. Once received, the central monitoring system 106 maydispatch one or more of the UAVs 104A-104D to the scene of the vehiclecollision or crash 112 to collect data related to the collision orcrash. The data collected by the UAVs 104A-104D may then be sent to theinsurance server 108 for the purpose of generating estimated insuranceclaims.

Generally, the insurance server 108 may be part of an insuranceprovider's computing system. The insurance server 108 may include aprocessor 108A, a memory 108B, and a data repository 116. Data receivedby the server 108 from the UAVs 104A-104D may be stored in therepository 116 as drone data 118. While FIG. 1 shows the repository 116as directly coupled to the insurance server 108, in other embodiments,the repository 116 may not be directly coupled to the server 108 butinstead may be accessible by the server 108 via a network such as thenetwork 110.

The processor 108A of the insurance server 108 may execute instructionsstored in the memory 108B to retrieve the drone data 118 in therepository 116 and then utilize the drone data 118 to generate claimestimates. In other words, the insurance server 108 may analyze thedrone data 118 to produce one or more estimated insurance claimsassociated with the insurance-related event captured or monitored by theUAVs 104A-104D. The estimated claims may then be sent to the insuredindividual (via the mobile device 102) for his or her review, approval,and/or modification. In this manner, the process of collectinginformation to generate estimated claims for approval by the insuredindividual may be made quicker, more efficient and more cost-effective.

II. Exemplary UAV

FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram of an exemplary UAV 200. The UAV 200 mayinclude a processor 202, a sensor array 204, a location acquisition unit206, a communication unit 208, a camera 210, a display 212, aspeaker/microphone 214, and a memory 216 having a navigation module 218and a data collection module 220. In one aspect, the UAV 200 is animplementation of one of the UAVs 104A-104D shown in FIG. 1.

The processor 202 may be implemented as any suitable type and/or numberof processors. For example, the processor 202 may be implemented as anembedded processor, a central processing unit, a graphical processingunit, etc. The processor 202 may be configured to communicate with theother components 204-216 of the UAV 200 via one or more wired and/orwireless interconnections. Further, the processor 202 may be configuredto operate in conjunction with one or more of the other components204-216. For example, the processor 202 may operate in conjunction withthe sensor array 204 to receive, process, store, and/or interpret datameasured and/or generated via the sensor array 204. As another example,the processor 202 may operate in conjunction with the display 212 tocause alerts and/or notifications to be displayed via the display 212.As a further example, the processor 202 may operate in conjunction withthe communication unit 208 to interpret communications, commands, and/orcontrols received via communication unit 208.

The sensor array 204 may be implemented as any suitable number and/ortype of sensors. Examples of the type of sensors implemented by thesensor array 204 may include one or more accelerometers, gyroscopes,compasses, speedometers, magnetometers, barometers, thermometers,proximity sensors, light sensors (e.g., light intensity detectors),electromagnetic radiation sensors (e.g., infrared and/or ultravioletradiation sensors), ultrasonic and/or infrared range detectors,humistors, hygrometers, altimeters, microphones, camera, etc. The sensorarray 204 may additionally or alternatively include advanced sensorsthat detect and/or receive data associated with temperaturemeasurements, thermal imaging, weather conditions, traffic conditions,etc. The sensor array 204 may be configured to collect information inaccordance with any of the implemented sensors, to store the collectedinformation in the memory 216, and/or to transmit any of the collectedinformation to one or more of the central monitoring system 106, anotherUAV (e.g., one or more of the UAVs 104A-104D), and/or the insuranceserver 108.

Noted above, in one embodiment, the sensors may include one or morecameras. The one or more cameras, and/or images taken by such cameras,may be used for drone or UAV location determination and/or navigation.For instance, images acquired by drone mounted cameras may be used withknown map-matching techniques to facilitate directing the drone along apre-determined route, such as a route to the location of aninsurance-related event or disaster, or back to a “base” location.Additionally or alternatively, drone or UAV navigation may be aided byeither a 2D (two dimensional) or 3D (three dimensional) model createdfrom one or more drone mounted cameras, range finders, etc. (and/or dataor images captured or created by such cameras or range finders). The 2Dor 3D model may facilitate or allow a drone or UAV to avoid obstacles,such as power lines, trees, street signs, etc. during flight.

The location acquisition unit 206 may be implemented as a satellitenavigation receiver that works with a global navigation satellite system(e.g., the global positioning system (GPS)). The location acquisitionunit 206 may be configured to receive navigational signals from one ormore satellites and to calculate a geographic location of the UAV 200using these signals. The location acquisition unit 206 may include oneor more processors, controllers, or other computing devices and memoryto calculate the geographic location of the UAV 200 without theprocessor 202, or the location acquisition unit 206 may utilizecomponents of the processor 202. Thus, the processor 202 and thelocation acquisition unit 206 may be combined or be separate orotherwise discrete elements.

Although aspects of the UAV 200 may include a satellite navigationreceiver, any suitable location-determining technology may be used. Forexample, the communication unit 208 may determine the location of theUAV 200 by receiving data from transmitter locations and then performingbasic triangulation calculations to determine the relative position ofthe UAV 200 with respect to the transmitting locations. For example,cellular towers or any customized transmitting radio frequency towersmay be used instead of, or in addition to, satellites.

The communication unit 208 may be configured to support any suitablenumber and/or type of communication protocols to facilitatecommunications between the UAV 200 and one or more other devices, suchas one or more of the central monitoring system 106, another UAV (e.g.,one or more of the UAVs 104A-104D), the insurance server 108, and/or themobile device 102 for example, as shown in FIG. 1. The communicationunit 208 may be configured to send and receive data directly and/orindirectly (e.g., via the network 110). The communication unit 208 maybe implemented with any suitable combination of hardware and/or softwareto facilitate this functionality. For example, the communication unit208 may be implemented having any suitable number of wired and/orwireless transceivers, ports, connectors, antennas, etc.

The camera 210 may be configured to capture one or more digital imagesand/or video data. For example, the camera 210 may capture, store,and/or transmit images associated with the scene of vehicle collision orcrash 112, such as images and/or videos of vehicles involved in thecollision or crash, aerial images and/or videos showing a top-down viewof the scene of the collision or crash, the road layout, etc. In variousaspects, the camera 210 may include any suitable combination of hardwareand/or software such as image sensors, optical stabilizers, imagebuffers, frame buffers, charge-coupled devices, complementary metaloxide semiconductor devices, etc., to facilitate this functionality.Further, the camera 210 may be coupled to one or more servos that arecontrolled via the processor 202 to obtain images and/or video from oneor more locations. The camera 210 may include any suitable number ofcameras, which may include cameras that capture image data in both thevisible and the non-visible spectrum, such as digital and thermalimaging cameras, for example.

The display 212 may be configured to display one or more images,messages, instructions, etc., in response to data received from theprocessor 202. The display 212 may be implemented as any suitable typeof display, and may facilitate user interactions with the UAV 200. Forexample, the display 212 may be implemented as a capacitive touch screendisplay, a resistive touch screen display, a standard display (anon-touch display), etc. In various aspects, the display 212 may beconfigured to work in conjunction with the processor 202 to detect userinputs upon a user selecting a displayed interactive icon or othergraphic, to identify user selections of objects displayed via thedisplay 212, etc. Additionally or alternatively, information displayedvia the display 212 may be in the form of audible announcements made viathe speaker/microphone 214.

The memory 216 may be a computer-readable non-transitory storage devicethat may include any suitable combination of volatile memory (e.g., arandom access memory or non-volatile memory). The memory 216 may beconfigured to store instructions executable on the processor 202, suchas the various modules illustrated in FIG. 2 and further discussedbelow.

The navigation module 218 in the memory 216 may be configured to storeinstructions that, when executed by the processor 202, cause theprocessor 202 to control the speed, direction, route, and/or altitude ofthe UAV 200. For example, executable instructions stored in thenavigation module 218 may enable the processor 202 to determine adestination specified as geographic location coordinates received aspart of a command via the communication unit 208, to determine a currentgeographic location of the UAV 200 via the location acquisition unit206, and/or to execute the appropriate controls to maneuver the UAV 200to the destination.

In some aspects, navigation of the UAV 200 may be performed with theassistance of one or more individuals controlling the UAV 200. Forexample, personnel associated with the central monitoring system 106 mayuse image and/or video captured by the camera 210 as feedback andmanually direct the UAV 200. In other aspects, navigation may beperformed by the UAV 200 autonomously or semi-autonomously (i.e., withminimal assistance from individuals). For example, executableinstructions stored in the navigation module 218 may enable theprocessor 202 to utilize image and/or video captured by the camera 210and to analyze the image and/or video in accordance with any suitableimage recognition, object recognition, collision-avoidance,detect-and-avoid, and/or machine vision algorithms. The UAV 200 may usethe outcome of such analyses to complete a requested navigational task.

The data collection module 220 in the memory 216 may be configured tostore instructions that, when executed by the processor 202 to collectdata associated with one or more locations in which the UAV 200 isdispatched or otherwise directed. Similar to the navigation processesdescribed above, the UAV 200 may likewise perform data collectionprocesses via manually, autonomously, or semi-autonomously. Data may becollected, for example, via one or more of the sensor array 204, thelocation acquisition unit 206, and/or the camera 210.

III. Exemplary Method for Using Data Collected from UAVS to Pre-GenerateClaims for Insured Approval

FIG. 3 depicts a flow diagram of an exemplary method 300 for using datacollected from UAVs to pre-generate claims for insured approval. Themethod 300 may include one or more blocks, routines or functions in theform of computer executable instructions that are stored in a tangiblecomputer-readable memory (e.g., 108B of FIG. 1) and executed using aprocessor (e.g., 108A of FIG. 1).

The method 300 may begin by receiving drone data associated with aninsurance-related event (block 302). The drone data may be received fromone or more UAVs (also called drones), such as the one or more UAVs104A-104D shown in FIG. 1. The drone data may include image data, videodata, audio data, and/or other data related to the insurance-relatedevent. The drone data may be generated, captured, collected, or gatheredby the one or more UAVs before, during, and/or after theinsurance-related event. The drone data may be collected by the UAVs viaone or more sensors, cameras, imaging devices, audio or visual recordingdevices, and/or other devices that are part of or mounted on the UAVs.The drone data may be received via wireless communication or datatransmission, for example.

In general, the insurance-related event may be any event in whichdamages are incurred on an insured asset. The insured asset may be avehicle, a home, a real property, and/or other property. As such,damages incurred on the insured asset may be, for example, damages to avehicle as a result of a collision, crash, or disaster, damages to ahome as a result of fire, flood, or theft, damages to a real property asa result of a severe weather occurrence or a natural disaster (e.g., ahurricane, a tornado, an earthquake, etc.), etc.

As an example, the insurance-related event may be a vehicle collision orcrash involving an insured driver or vehicle covered by an insurancepolicy issued by an insurance provider. Accordingly, the receive dronedata may include various images, videos, audios, and/or other datacollected by the one or more UAVs before, during, and/or after thevehicle collision or crash.

To collect data, the one or more UAVs may first identify vehiclesinvolved at the scene of the vehicle collision or crash. Afterward, theone or more UAVs may capture images, videos, and/or audios of thevehicles involved (e.g., impact points, crash noises, license platenumbers, extent of vehicle damages, etc.). The one or more UAVs may alsocapture aerial image and/or video data of the scene of the vehiclecollision or crash at a predetermined or otherwise establishedelevation. These aerial image and/or video data may reveal detailsassociated with the scene of the vehicle collision or crash, such as thetype of roads, road lighting conditions, current traffic conditions, thetime of day, weather conditions, etc. Further, the one or more UAVs mayperform interviews with drivers, passengers, witnesses, and/or otherpersons involved in the vehicle collision or crash. For example, the oneor more UAVs may provide prompts and/or instructions, and then recordresponses to the prompts as audio and/or video data.

Next, the method 300 analyzes the received drone data to estimate theextent of damages incurred as a result of the insurance-related event(block 304). With reference to the vehicle collision or crash exampleabove, the method 300 may analyze any or all of the received drone datato estimate or determine the extent of damages to the vehicle and/orinjuries to vehicle occupants (e.g., drivers, passenger, etc.) as aresult of the vehicle collision or crash.

The method 300 then generates an estimated insurance claim for theinsurance-related event (block 306). Here, the method 300 generates aninsurance claim estimate for the insured asset based upon the extent ofdamages to the insured asset, as determined from the analysis of thedrone data in block 304. Continuing with the vehicle collision or crashexample, the method 300 may generate an estimated insurance claim forthe collision or crash based upon the estimated extent of damages to thevehicle and/or injuries to the vehicle occupants, as determined from thedrone data analysis.

The method 300 may also send the estimated insurance claim for insuredapproval (block 308). In particular, the method 300 may transmit theestimated insurance claim, via wireless communication or datatransmission, to a computing device (e.g., the mobile device 102 inFIG. 1) associated with an insured individual or an owner of the insuredasset in order to facilitate the process of reviewing, approving, and/ormodifying the estimated insurance claim. This allows for quicker claimhandling in the sense that the insured individual may quickly review,approve, and/or modify the estimated insurance claim on his or hermobile or other computing device, and then have his or her insurancepolicy premium, rate, reward, or discount adjusted or updated based uponthe approved estimated insurance claim.

IV. Exemplary Method

In one aspect, a computer-implemented method of using drone data topre-generate insurance claims may be provided. The method may include(1) receiving, via a network, drone data from one or more UAVs, thedrone data including one or more of image data, video data, or audiodata associated with an insurance-related event in which damage isincurred on an insured asset; (2) analyzing, by one or more processors,the drone data to estimate an extent of damage incurred on the insuredasset; (3) generating, by one or more processors, an estimated insuranceclaim for the insured asset based upon the estimated extent of damageincurred on the insured asset; and/or (4) transmitting, via a network(such as via wireless communication or data transmission), the estimatedinsurance claim to a mobile device (or other computing device) an ownerof the insured asset for their review and approval of the estimatedinsurance claim. The method may include additional, fewer, or alternateactions, including those discussed elsewhere herein, and/or may beimplemented via one or more local or remote processors, and/or viacomputer-executable instructions stored on non-transitorycomputer-readable medium or media.

The method may further include (1) receiving, via a network, approval ofor modification to the estimated insurance claim from the owner of theinsured asset; and (2) adjusting, by one or more processors, one or moreof a premium, a rate, a reward, or a discount for an insurance policyassociated with the insured asset based upon the estimated insuranceclaim.

The insured asset may be a vehicle and the insurance-related event maybe a vehicle collision or crash in which damage is incurred on thevehicle. Accordingly, analyzing the drone data to estimate the extent ofdamage may include estimating damages to the vehicle or injuries tovehicle occupants as a result of the vehicle collision or crash.Further, generating the estimated insurance claim may include generatingan estimated insurance claim for the vehicle based upon the estimateddamages to the vehicle or injuries to vehicle occupants.

The insured asset may also be one or more of a vehicle, home, realproperty, or other property. As such, the insurance-related event may bea severe weather condition including one or more of a hurricane,tornado, thunderstorm, windstorm, or hailstorm that causes damage to oneor more of the vehicle, home, real property, or other property. Theinsurance-related event may also be an incident in which one or more ofwind damage, water damage, fire damage, theft damage, hail damage, orearthquake damage is incurred on one or more of the vehicle, home, realproperty, or other property.

V. Exemplary Computer System

In one aspect, a computer system for using drone data to pre-generateinsurance claims may be provided. The computer system may include a datarepository and a server including a memory having instructions forexecution on one or more processors. The instructions, when executed bythe one or more processors, may cause the server to receive, via anetwork, drone data from one or more UAVs, the drone data including oneor more of image data, video data, or audio data associated with aninsurance-related event in which damage is incurred on an insured asset;store the drone data in the data repository; analyze the drone data inthe data repository to estimate an extent of damage incurred on theinsured asset; generate an estimated insurance claim for the insuredasset based upon the estimated extent of damage incurred on the insuredasset; and/or transmit, via a communication network (such as viawireless communication or data transmission), the estimated insuranceclaim to a mobile or other computing device of an owner of the insuredasset for their review and approval of the estimated insurance claim.The computer system may include additional, fewer, or alternateinstructions for execution on the one or more processors, includingthose discussed elsewhere herein.

The instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, mayfurther cause the server to receive, via a network, approval of ormodification to the estimated insurance claim from the owner of theinsured asset; and/or adjust, by one or more processors, one or more ofa premium, a rate, a reward, or a discount for an insurance policyassociated with the insured asset based upon the estimated insuranceclaim.

The insured asset may be a vehicle and the insurance-related event maybe a vehicle collision or crash in which damage is incurred on thevehicle. Accordingly, the instructions of the server, when executed bythe one or more processors to analyze the drone data to estimate theextent of damage may include instructions to estimate damages to thevehicle or injuries to vehicle occupants as a result of the vehiclecollision or crash. Further, the instructions of the server, whenexecuted by the one or more processors to generate the estimatedinsurance claim may include instructions to generate an estimatedinsurance claim for the vehicle based upon the estimated damages to thevehicle or injuries to vehicle occupants.

The insured asset may also be one or more of a vehicle, home, realproperty, or other property. As such, the insurance-related event may bea severe weather condition including one or more of a hurricane,tornado, thunderstorm, windstorm, or hailstorm that causes damage to oneor more of the vehicle, home, real property, or other property. Theinsurance-related event may also be an incident in which one or more ofwind damage, water damage, fire damage, theft damage, hail damage, orearthquake damage is incurred on one or more of the vehicle, home, realproperty, or other property.

VI. Exemplary Non-Transitory Storage Medium

In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumincluding computer-readable instructions to be executed on one or moreprocessors of a system for using drone data to pre-generate insuranceclaims may be provided. The instructions when executed may cause the oneor more processors to receive, via a network, drone data from one ormore UAVs, the drone data including one or more of image data, videodata, or audio data associated with an insurance-related event in whichdamage is incurred on an insured asset; analyze the drone data toestimate an extent of damage incurred on the insured asset; generate anestimated insurance claim for the insured asset based upon the estimatedextent of damage incurred on the insured asset; and/or transmit, via anetwork, the estimated insurance claim to a mobile device (or othercomputing device) of an owner of the insured asset, such as via wirelesscommunication or data transmission, for their review and approval of theestimated insurance claim. The non-transitory computer-readable storagememory may include additional, fewer, or alternate computer-readableinstructions, including those discussed elsewhere herein.

The instructions that, when executed, may further cause the one or moreprocessors to receive, via a network, approval of or modification to theestimated insurance claim from the owner of the insured asset; and/oradjust one or more of a premium, a rate, a reward, or a discount for aninsurance policy associated with the insured asset based upon theestimated insurance claim.

The insured asset may be a vehicle and the insurance-related event maybe a vehicle collision or crash in which damage is incurred on thevehicle. Accordingly, the instructions to analyze the drone data toestimate the extent of damage may include estimating damages to thevehicle or injuries to vehicle occupants as a result of the vehiclecollision or crash. Further, the instructions to generate the estimatedinsurance claim may include generating an estimated insurance claim forthe vehicle based upon the estimated damages to the vehicle or injuriesto vehicle occupants.

VII. Exemplary Computing Environment

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary computing environment for asystem 400 having a computing device 401 that may be used to implementthe systems and methods described herein. The computing device 401 maybe a computing device (e.g., a smart phone, a tablet computer, a laptopcomputer, a Wi-Fi-enabled device, etc.), a server, or other types ofcomputing or mobile devices. Processor systems similar or identical tothe system 400 may be used to implement and execute the exemplary systemof FIG. 1, the exemplary UAV system of FIG. 2, the exemplary method ofFIG. 3, and the like. Although the system 400 is described below asincluding a plurality of peripherals, interfaces, chips, memories, etc.,one or more of those elements may be omitted from other exemplaryprocessor systems used to implement and execute the exemplary system100. Also, other components may be added.

As shown in FIG. 4, the computing device 401 may include a processor 402that is coupled to an interconnection bus 404. The processor 402 mayinclude a register set or register space 406, which is depicted in FIG.4 as being entirely on-chip, but which could alternatively be locatedentirely or partially off-chip and directly coupled to the processor 402via dedicated electrical connections and/or via the interconnection bus404. The processor 402 may be any suitable processor, processing unit ormicroprocessor. Although not shown in FIG. 4, the computing device 401may be a multi-processor device and, thus, may include one or moreadditional processors that are identical or similar to the processor 402and that are communicatively coupled to the interconnection bus 404.

The processor 402 of FIG. 4 may be coupled to a chipset 408, which mayinclude a memory controller 410 and a peripheral input/output (I/O)controller 412. As is well known, a chipset typically provides I/O andmemory management functions, as well as a plurality of general purposeand/or special purpose registers, timers, etc. that are accessible orused by one or more processors coupled to the chipset 408. The memorycontroller 410 performs functions that enable the processor 402 (orprocessors if there are multiple processors) to access a system memory414 and a mass storage memory 416, that may include either or both of anin-memory cache (e.g., a cache within the memory 414) or an on-diskcache (e.g., a cache within the mass storage memory 416).

The system memory 414 may include any desired type of volatile and/ornon-volatile memory such as, for example, static random access memory(SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), flash memory, read-onlymemory (ROM), etc. The mass storage memory 416 may include any desiredtype of mass storage device. For example, if the computing device 401 isused to implement an application 418 having an API 419 (includingfunctions and instructions as described by the method 300 of FIG. 3),the mass storage memory 416 may include a hard disk drive, an opticaldrive, a tape storage device, a solid-state memory (e.g., a flashmemory, a RAM memory, etc.), a magnetic memory (e.g., a hard drive), orany other memory suitable for mass storage. As used herein, the termsmodule, block, function, operation, procedure, routine, step, and methodrefer to tangible computer program logic or tangible computer executableinstructions that provide the specified functionality to the computingdevice 401 and the system 400. Thus, a module, block, function,operation, procedure, routine, step, and method may be implemented inhardware, firmware, and/or software. In one embodiment, program modulesand routines (e.g., the application 418, the API 419, etc.) are storedin mass storage memory 416, loaded into system memory 414, and executedby a processor 402 or may be provided from computer program productsthat are stored in tangible computer-readable storage mediums (e.g.,RAM, hard disk, optical/magnetic media, etc.).

The peripheral I/O controller 410 may perform functions that enable theprocessor 402 to communicate with peripheral input/output (I/O) devices422 and 424, a network interface 426, a local network transceiver 427, acellular network transceiver 428, and a GPS transceiver 429 via thenetwork interface 426. The I/O devices 422 and 424 may be any desiredtype of I/O device such as, for example, a keyboard, a display (e.g., aliquid crystal display (LCD), a cathode ray tube (CRT) display, etc.), anavigation device (e.g., a mouse, a trackball, a capacitive touch pad, ajoystick, etc.), etc. The cellular telephone transceiver 428 may beresident with the local network transceiver 427. The local networktransceiver 427 may include support for a Wi-Fi network, Bluetooth,Infrared, or other wireless data transmission protocols.

In other embodiments, one element may simultaneously support each of thevarious wireless protocols employed by the computing device 401. Forexample, a software-defined radio may be able to support multipleprotocols via downloadable instructions. In operation, the computingdevice 401 may be able to periodically poll for visible wireless networktransmitters (both cellular and local network) on a periodic basis. Suchpolling may be possible even while normal wireless traffic is beingsupported on the computing device 401. The network interface 426 may be,for example, an Ethernet device, an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM)device, an 802.11 wireless interface device, a DSL modem, a cable modem,a cellular modem, etc., that enables the system 400 to communicate withanother computer system having at least the elements described inrelation to the system 100.

While the memory controller 412 and the I/O controller 410 are depictedin FIG. 4 as separate functional blocks within the chipset 408, thefunctions performed by these blocks may be integrated within a singleintegrated circuit or may be implemented using two or more separateintegrated circuits. The system 400 may also implement the application418 on remote computing devices 430 and 432. The remote computingdevices 430 and 432 may communicate with the computing device 401 overan Ethernet link 434. In some embodiments, the application 418 may beretrieved by the computing device 401 from a cloud computing server 436via the Internet 438. When using the cloud computing server 436, theretrieved application 418 may be programmatically linked with thecomputing device 401. The application 418 may be a Java® appletexecuting within a Java® Virtual Machine (JVM) environment resident inthe computing device 401 or the remote computing devices 430, 432. Theapplication 418 may also be “plug-ins” adapted to execute in aweb-browser located on the computing devices 401, 430, and 432. In someembodiments, the application 418 may communicate with backend components440 such as the central monitoring system 106, and the insurance server108 via the Internet 438.

The system 400 may include, but is not limited to, any combination of aLAN, a MAN, a WAN, a mobile, a wired or wireless network, a privatenetwork, or a virtual private network. Moreover, while only two remotecomputing devices 430 and 432 are illustrated in FIG. 4 to simplify andclarify the description, it is understood that any number of clientcomputers are supported and may be in communication within the system400.

Additionally, certain embodiments are described herein as includinglogic or a number of components, modules, or mechanisms. Modules mayconstitute either software modules (e.g., code or instructions embodiedon a machine-readable medium or in a transmission signal, wherein thecode is executed by a processor) or hardware modules. A hardware moduleis tangible unit capable of performing certain operations and may beconfigured or arranged in a certain manner. In exemplary embodiments,one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone, client or servercomputer system) or one or more hardware modules of a computer system(e.g., a processor or a group of processors) may be configured bysoftware (e.g., an application or application portion) as a hardwaremodule that operates to perform certain operations as described herein.

In various embodiments, a hardware module may be implementedmechanically or electronically. For example, a hardware module maycomprise dedicated circuitry or logic that is permanently configured(e.g., as a special-purpose processor, such as a field programmable gatearray (FPGA) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) toperform certain operations. A hardware module may also compriseprogrammable logic or circuitry (e.g., as encompassed within ageneral-purpose processor or other programmable processor) that istemporarily configured by software to perform certain operations. Itwill be appreciated that the decision to implement a hardware modulemechanically, in dedicated and permanently configured circuitry, or intemporarily configured circuitry (e.g., configured by software) may bedriven by cost and time considerations.

Accordingly, the term “hardware module” should be understood toencompass a tangible entity, be that an entity that is physicallyconstructed, permanently configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarilyconfigured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manner or toperform certain operations described herein. As used herein,“hardware-implemented module” refers to a hardware module. Consideringembodiments in which hardware modules are temporarily configured (e.g.,programmed), each of the hardware modules need not be configured orinstantiated at any one instance in time. For example, where thehardware modules comprise a general-purpose processor configured usingsoftware, the general-purpose processor may be configured as respectivedifferent hardware modules at different times. Software may accordinglyconfigure a processor, for example, to constitute a particular hardwaremodule at one instance of time and to constitute a different hardwaremodule at a different instance of time.

Hardware modules may provide information to, and receive informationfrom, other hardware modules. Accordingly, the described hardwaremodules may be regarded as being communicatively coupled. Where multipleof such hardware modules exist contemporaneously, communications may beachieved through signal transmission (e.g., over appropriate circuitsand buses) that connect the hardware modules. In embodiments in whichmultiple hardware modules are configured or instantiated at differenttimes, communications between such hardware modules may be achieved, forexample, through the storage and retrieval of information in memorystructures to which the multiple hardware modules have access. Forexample, one hardware module may perform an operation and store theoutput of that operation in a memory device to which it iscommunicatively coupled. A further hardware module may then, at a latertime, access the memory device to retrieve and process the storedoutput. Hardware modules may also initiate communications with input oroutput devices, and may operate on a resource (e.g., a collection ofinformation).

The various operations of exemplary methods described herein may beperformed, at least partially, by one or more processors that aretemporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured toperform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanentlyconfigured, such processors may constitute processor-implemented modulesthat operate to perform one or more operations or functions. The modulesreferred to herein may, in some exemplary embodiments, compriseprocessor-implemented modules.

Similarly, the methods or routines described herein may be at leastpartially processor-implemented. For example, at least some of theoperations of a method may be performed by one or more processors orprocessor-implemented hardware modules. The performance of certain ofthe operations may be distributed among the one or more processors, notonly residing within a single machine, but deployed across a number ofmachines. In some example embodiments, the processor or processors maybe located in a single location (e.g., within a home environment, anoffice environment or as a server farm), while in other embodiments theprocessors may be distributed across a number of locations.

The one or more processors may also operate to support performance ofthe relevant operations in a “cloud computing” environment or as a“software as a service” (SaaS). For example, at least some of theoperations may be performed by a group of computers (as examples ofmachines including processors), these operations being accessible via anetwork (e.g., the Internet) and via one or more appropriate interfaces(e.g., application program interfaces (APIs)).

The performance of certain of the operations may be distributed amongthe one or more processors, not only residing within a single machine,but deployed across a number of machines. In some exemplary embodiments,the one or more processors or processor-implemented modules may belocated in a single geographic location (e.g., within a homeenvironment, an office environment, or a server farm). In otherexemplary embodiments, the one or more processors orprocessor-implemented modules may be distributed across a number ofgeographic locations.

Some portions of this specification are presented in terms of algorithmsor symbolic representations of operations on data stored as bits orbinary digital signals within a machine memory (e.g., a computermemory). These algorithms or symbolic representations are examples oftechniques used by those of ordinary skill in the data processing artsto convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. Asused herein, an “algorithm” is a self-consistent sequence of operationsor similar processing leading to a desired result. In this context,algorithms and operations involve physical manipulation of physicalquantities. Typically, but not necessarily, such quantities may take theform of electrical, magnetic, or optical signals capable of beingstored, accessed, transferred, combined, compared, or otherwisemanipulated by a machine. It is convenient at times, principally forreasons of common usage, to refer to such signals using words such as“data,” “content,” “bits,” “values,” “elements,” “symbols,”“characters,” “terms,” “numbers,” “numerals,” or the like. These words,however, are merely convenient labels and are to be associated withappropriate physical quantities.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, discussions herein using wordssuch as “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,”“presenting,” “displaying,” or the like may refer to actions orprocesses of a machine (e.g., a computer) that manipulates or transformsdata represented as physical (e.g., electronic, magnetic, or optical)quantities within one or more memories (e.g., volatile memory,non-volatile memory, or a combination thereof), registers, or othermachine components that receive, store, transmit, or displayinformation.

As used herein any reference to “some embodiments” or “an embodiment”means that a particular element, feature, structure, or characteristicdescribed in connection with the embodiment is included in at least oneembodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in some embodiments” invarious places in the specification are not necessarily all referring tothe same embodiment.

Some embodiments may be described using the expression “coupled” and“connected” along with their derivatives. For example, some embodimentsmay be described using the term “coupled” to indicate that two or moreelements are in direct physical or electrical contact. The term“coupled,” however, may also mean that two or more elements are not indirect contact with each other, but yet still co-operate or interactwith each other. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

Further, the Figures depict preferred embodiments of a system and methodfor using data collected from UAVs to pre-generate claims for insuredapproval for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art willreadily recognize from the following discussion that alternativeembodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may beemployed without departing from the principles described herein.

Upon reading this disclosure, those of skill in the art will appreciatestill additional alternative structural and functional designs for asystem and a process for using data collected from UAVs to pre-generateclaims for insured approval through the disclosed principles herein.Thus, while particular embodiments and applications have beenillustrated and described, it is to be understood that the disclosedembodiments are not limited to the precise construction and componentsdisclosed herein. Various modifications, changes and variations, whichwill be apparent to those skilled in the art, may be made in thearrangement, operation and details of the method and apparatus disclosedherein without departing from the spirit and scope defined in theappended claims.

With the foregoing, an insurance customer may opt into a rewards,insurance discount, or other type of program. After the insurancecustomer provides their affirmative consent, an insurance provider droneor UAV may collect image data of insured assets after (and/or before) aninsurance-related event, including those events discussed elsewhereherein. In return, risk averse drivers, and/or vehicle or home ownersmay receive discounts or insurance cost savings related to auto, home,and other types of insurance from the insurance provider.

In one aspect, drone or UAV data, and/or other data, including the typesof data discussed elsewhere herein, may be collected or received by aninsurance provider remote server, such as via direct or indirectwireless communication or data transmission from a drone or UAV, after acustomer affirmatively consents or otherwise opts into an insurancediscount, reward, or other program. The insurance provider may thenanalyze the data received with the customer's permission to providebenefits to the customer. As a result, risk averse customers may receiveinsurance discounts or other insurance cost savings based upon data thatreflects low risk behavior and/or technology that mitigates or preventsrisk to (i) insured assets, such as vehicles or homes, and/or (ii)vehicle operators or passengers, or home occupants.

The present embodiments may also facilitate risk assessment and premiumdetermination for vehicle or home insurance policies. For instance, aconsumer may opt-in to a rewards program that rewards them, such as inthe form of insurance discounts, for sharing data related to theirvehicle and/or home features with an insurance provider, both before andafter an insurance-related event. Also, more efficient online insuranceclaim handling and/or processing may be provided, as well as proposedinsurance claim pre-generation.

The patent claims at the end of this patent application are not intendedto be construed under 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) unless traditionalmeans-plus-function language is expressly recited, such as “means for”or “step for” language being explicitly recited in the claim(s).

What is claimed:
 1. A computer-implemented method of using drone data topre-generate insurance claims, the method comprising: receiving, by oneor more processors, a report of an insurance-related event including alocation of an insured asset; directing, by the one or more processors,a plurality of drones to the location of the insured asset to collectdrone data in response to receiving the report, including directing amothership drone to the location of the insured asset which directs oneor more other drones to the location; receiving, via a network, thedrone data from the plurality of drones, the drone data including one ormore of image data, video data, or audio data associated with theinsurance-related event in which damage is incurred on the insuredasset; analyzing, by one or more processors, the drone data to estimatean extent of damage incurred on the insured asset; generating, by one ormore processors, an estimated insurance claim for the insured assetbased upon the estimated extent of damage incurred on the insured asset;and transmitting, via a network, the estimated insurance claim to amobile device of an owner of the insured asset for their review andapproval of the estimated insurance claim.
 2. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, via a network,approval of or modification to the estimated insurance claim from theowner of the insured asset; and adjusting, by one or more processors,one or more of a premium, a rate, a reward, or a discount for aninsurance policy associated with the insured asset based upon theestimated insurance claim.
 3. The computer-implemented method of claim1, wherein the insured asset is a vehicle and the insurance-relatedevent is a vehicle collision or crash in which damage is incurred on thevehicle.
 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, whereinanalyzing the drone data to estimate the extent of damage includesestimating damages to the vehicle or injuries to vehicle occupants as aresult of the vehicle collision or crash.
 5. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 4, wherein generating the estimated insurance claimincludes generating an estimated insurance claim for the vehicle basedupon the estimated damages to the vehicle or injuries to vehicleoccupants.
 6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein theinsured asset is one or more of a vehicle, home, real property, or otherproperty.
 7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein theinsurance-related event is a severe weather condition including one ormore of a hurricane, tornado, thunderstorm, windstorm, or hailstorm thatcauses damage to one or more of the vehicle, home, real property, orother property.
 8. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, whereinthe insurance-related event is an incident in which one or more of winddamage, water damage, fire damage, theft damage, hail damage, orearthquake damage is incurred on one or more of the vehicle, home, realproperty, or other property.
 9. A non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium including computer-readable instructions to be executedon one or more processors of a system for using drone data topre-generate insurance claims, the instructions when executed causingthe one or more processors to: receive, via a network, a report of aninsurance-related event including a location of an insured asset; directa plurality of drones to the location of the insured asset to collectdrone data in response to receiving the report, including direct amothership drone to the location of the insured asset which directs oneor more other drones to the location; receive, via the network, thedrone data from the plurality of drones, the drone data including one ormore of image data, video data, or audio data associated with theinsurance-related event in which damage is incurred on the insuredasset; analyze the drone data to estimate an extent of damage incurredon the insured asset; generate an estimated insurance claim for theinsured asset based upon the estimated extent of damage incurred on theinsured asset; and transmit, via a network, the estimated insuranceclaim to a mobile device of an owner of the insured asset for theirreview and approval of the estimated insurance claim.
 10. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, furthercomprising instructions that, when executed, cause the one or moreprocessors to: receive, via a network, approval of or modification tothe estimated insurance claim from the owner of the insured asset; andadjust one or more of a premium, a rate, a reward, or a discount for aninsurance policy associated with the insured asset based upon theestimated insurance claim.
 11. The non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium of claim 9, wherein the insured asset is a vehicle andthe insurance-related event is a vehicle collision or crash in whichdamage is incurred on the vehicle.
 12. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the instructionsto analyze the drone data to estimate the extent of damage includeestimating damages to the vehicle or injuries to vehicle occupants as aresult of the vehicle collision or crash.
 13. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the instructionsto generate the estimated insurance claim include generating anestimated insurance claim for the vehicle based upon the estimateddamages to the vehicle or injuries to vehicle occupants.
 14. A computersystem for using drone data to pre-generate insurance claims, the systemcomprising: a data repository; and a server, including a memory havinginstructions for execution on one or more processors, wherein theinstructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause theserver to: receive, via a network, a report of an insurance-relatedevent including a location of an insured asset; direct a plurality ofdrones to the location of the insured asset to collect drone data inresponse to receiving the report, including direct a mothership drone tothe location of the insured asset which directs one or more other dronesto the location; receive, via the network, the drone data from theplurality of drones, the drone data including one or more of image data,video data, or audio data associated with the insurance-related event inwhich damage is incurred on the insured asset; store the drone data inthe data repository; analyze the drone data in the data repository toestimate an extent of damage incurred on the insured asset; generate anestimated insurance claim for the insured asset based upon the estimatedextent of damage incurred on the insured asset; and transmit, via anetwork, the estimated insurance claim to a mobile device of an owner ofthe insured asset for their review and approval of the estimatedinsurance claim.
 15. The computer system of claim 14, wherein theinstructions of the server, when executed by the one or more processors,further cause the server to: receive, via a network, approval of ormodification to the estimated insurance claim from the owner of theinsured asset; and adjust one or more of a premium, a rate, a reward, ora discount for an insurance policy associated with the insured assetbased upon the estimated insurance claim.
 16. The computer system ofclaim 14, wherein the insured asset is a vehicle and theinsurance-related event is a vehicle collision or crash in which damageis incurred on the vehicle.
 17. The computer system of claim 16, whereinthe instructions of the server, when executed by the one or moreprocessors to analyze the drone data to estimate the extent of damagefurther include instructions to estimate damages to the vehicle orinjuries to vehicle occupants as a result of the vehicle collision orcrash.
 18. The computer system of claim 17, wherein the instructions ofthe server, when executed by the one or more processors to generate theestimated insurance claim further include instructions to generate anestimated insurance claim for the vehicle based upon the estimateddamages to the vehicle or injuries to vehicle occupants.
 19. Thecomputer system of claim 14, wherein the insured asset is one or more ofa vehicle, home, real property, or other property.
 20. The computersystem of claim 19, wherein the insurance-related event is a severeweather condition including one or more of a hurricane, tornado,thunderstorm, windstorm, or hailstorm that causes damage to one or moreof the vehicle, home, real property, or other property.
 21. The computersystem of claim 19, wherein the insurance-related event is an incidentin which one or more of wind damage, water damage, fire damage, theftdamage, hail damage, or earthquake damage is incurred on one or more ofthe vehicle, home, real property, or other property.